Tallin!!

Estonia was wonderful. In fact, it convinced me that learning Russian was actually a very good idea, because now I can travel around the Baltic states and have a decent chance of making myself understood. And after visiting Estonia, I’d like to do so. Since we only spend about 8 hours in Estonia, this speaks (positive) volumes about the country. Or at least, Tallin.

Estonia is a tiny country, but Estonians are very proud of having their own state. As well they should be, given that at various past times they were ruled by, among others, the Teutonic Knights, the Swedes, and the Russians. Their only other period of dependence since the middle ages, besides the current one, was a brief spurt in the early 20th century before their absortion into the USSR. Tallin, as both their main and capital city, shows traces of every period of Estonia’s history, and thus was absolutely fascinating. Although in our case, besides our time walking to and from the ferry, we spent the day in the Tallin ‘old town’, which can itself be divided into two parts, the ‘upper’ town and –you guessed it – the ‘lower’ town. The ‘upper’ town is older, and contains among other things on one of its highest points the medieval castle (the first permanent structure in Tallin?) that has undergone changes with each successive administration that has controlled the city; its current reincarnation has a candy pink, St. Petersburg-style stucco façade built by, of course, the Russian tsarist government. I think it is currently used as the parliament. It stands across from the very traditional Russian Orthodox Church that the Russian Administration built during Tsar Nicholas’ ‘Russification’ campaign, a glaringly obvious symbol of Russian power.
The upper town also contains one of the most beautiful and moving churches I have ever visited, a huge Lutheran cathedral. Perhaps due to a strong German influence from its trade relations, Estonia is a primarily Lutheran country and the cathedral is decorated with shields commemorating local important barons, counts, etc. These wooden shields are decorated with coats of arms and were apparently carried in front of funeral processions, then hung in the church, and they offset beautifully the primarily white interior. More impressively, there was a woman singing in the church,and filling it full with her voice. When we initially entered the church I didn’t realize that the music was live, but looking into the musical balcony at the back there a woman was, practicing one assumed. Her singing was beautiful, and gave a very holy feeling to the cathedral. Overall, the impression created was of a pure vastness made more intimate by the presence of dark wood, ornate metal work (especially in the chandeliers), and filled with a glorious voice. Lovely.
Other sights in Tallin include the Maidens’ tower, where young girls who refused to marry the men their families chose for them were imprisoned until they relented. I imagine young, fiery women, and old, fat barons that were their intended husbands. Later, (or simultaneously?) this tower was apparently used to imprison prostitutes, given an ironic meaning to the name ‘Maidens’ Tower. In the lower town there is a well called ‘drowned cats well’ which the townsfolk would toss unfortunate stray cats into to appease the demon that they believed lived in it. Imagine the water quality and shudder. I should mention, the tap water in Estonia is drinkable, so probably does not currently contain dead cats. Right across from this well of doubtful quality is a house that the devil allegedly celebrated his wedding party in; the room where this happened was sealed, and remains so to this day. From the look of the old town, you would think that Estonia is back in the middle ages. They even have active guilds in the city, some no doubt tracing their history back through the centuries, since Tallin has long been a commercial center (although apparently Germans were at the fore, not Estonians themselves). Apparently, however, IT is actually a big deal in Estonia, with more and more young people entering the field. In fact, Skype, the internet calling phenomenon – if you will – originated in Estonia, and apparently many Estonians still staff its ranks. And really, outside of the old city Tallin looks quite modern, albeit in a fairly unsurprising and concrete-laden Soviet way.
Also more recently, President Bush stayed at the Radisson in Tallin during his visit to – I believe – a summit in Latvia. And by stayed at, I mean rented the entire place. Our guide, a very cheerful and amusing Australian who lives in Tallin due to his Estonian girlfriend, pointed out that when the Queen of England visited Tallin she stayed in a local historical bed and breakfast called the Three Sisters. He said that he tells Americans that this shows the power difference between the two countries, and tells people from other countries that this shows how important the two countries see themselves. He then admitted that perhaps the comparison is not quite fair, given the Queen has mainly ceremonial rather than religious power. I still thought it was funny.

I could say more about the rest of the city, but there’s only so much I can describe without it all beginning to sound the same. Overall, it contains extraordinarily old architecture and was a joy to walk around in. The streets, like in most medieval towns, are narrow, cobbled and windy, making it even more fun to explore. There is also both a marzipan shop and a marzipan museum. There are plenty of cafes and small shops with local crafts, and it was in one of these that I had my first experience with tourist versus local prices. We happened to walk into a wool and yarn shop owned by a Russian lady, who we had heard talking in Russian and to whom, when she was struggling to name prices in English, Ashley asked her to speak in Russian. She brightened, and after her other customers left came over and enthusiastically encouraged Ashley to try on multiple hats while she was shopping. Having apparently decided that a scarf with long ends functioning as a scarf was the best choice, she lowered the price from 350 kroons to only 200, apparently its actual price in wool and work hours, a.k.a. the non-tourist price. And it is a fantastic scarf-hat. As I said, Estonia proved the usefulness of Russian! It also had delicious pastries, just like Finland. All buttery goodness and flaky crust, which is not usually standard to Russia; not that they’re not good, but they are a different style.

There really are many Russians in Estonia, but at the moment its impossible to get to Estonia directly from Russia, thanks to Putin. Apparently, the Estonian government dismantled and relocated a monument to the Red Army from Tallin to some obscure park. Since this was kind of a slap in the face to the Russian influence in Estonia, Russians in the capital rioted, and Putin cut the railway lines into Estonia. I sort of imagine this as similar to a ribbon-cutting ceremony, except that Putin stands with a stony look on his face, holding in his hands massive wire cutters and then taking them to the tracks. Or maybe he just chopped through them with his bare hands, given his judo expertise. You never know.

I think that’s were I’m going to stop with Estonia. Overall, I liked to better than Finland, although that may have something to do with the lack of stucco and presence of cobbles. One can only stand so much stucco. But also, it seems more real than Finland, which is a little overly clean and well-run. Basically, slightly boring. Then again, that might only be Helsinki. No matter what, I will be returning to the Baltic States, and explore the ex-USSR. And it will be fantastic.

On the ferry back to Helsinki many people were loaded up with boxes of duty-free goods, beer, cigarettes, and gin ‘long drinks’ being particularly popular. Ah, to be able to travel so easily between countries! Or rather, to have other countries so close!

Back in Saint Petersburg, lately we have been receiving actual winter weather; loads of snow and glorious landscapes of white. Unfortunately, I have discovered the inevitable and terrible side of effect of the glorious whiteness; slush. In its many forms, including sludge, icy water and dirt. Downtown, where they clean the entire streets and sidewalks with ice, the gutters overflow and there are slushy rivers that form between the sidewalk and the street, making it a mission to cross the road without boots filling with water. I also managed to step into a massive hole in the road concealed by water, splashing above my boots and leaving unpleasantly wet pants in their wake. And I was worried that my snow boots wouldn’t come in handy!

The slush and sludge is a small price to pay, however, for the glories of winter. The crunch of snow under my feet is joyful, the silky top of the snow a lovely blanket. There is just so much to enjoy, and its still so new, that I’m surprised every time I step outside. Oh winter!